This great-grandmother remembers the day when there were few forms of birth control and abortion was something secretly obtained and only safely by women with the means and the savvy to find a doctor willing to perform an illegal act for the price.

Women fought hard and long to achieve the rights that women now enjoy with access to birth control information and services. Why the government got into our bedrooms in the first place is a mystery to me, but what is not a mystery but is obvious is that we must fight all over again to prevent the loss of these rights.

A new administration is determined to do what it can to lead us back to those dark ages. To defund Planned Parenthood is to deny services to millions of American women who want to make their own choices about their personal lives.

Linda LeesMonmouth Beach

Help Neighbors, Those Around the World Beat Hunger at Oct. 21 CROP Walk

To the Editor:

Less than two weeks to go for our 32nd annual CROP Hunger Walk in the Red Bank Area, walking 5 miles to raise awareness, funds and food for hungry neighbors around the block, and around the world!

We can do it, with each of you coming out to Red Bank Regional High School for a 2 p.m. start through Fair Haven, Red Bank and Little Silver.

Remember that the food drive requests rice, beans, and peanut butter for local pantries to fill their near empty shelves this autumn season. Our goal is 12,000 pounds, or 6 tons of food. It will all be distributed by late afternoon in a massive effort by Christian Brothers Academy students, staff, and friends of Crop Walk.

The coordinators of this food collection will be cutting the start ribbon to send runners, walkers and 4-legged friends on the route. Water stops will be staffed by volunteers from the Tinton Falls and Red Bank Rotary, Two River Community Bank, Red Bank Methodists and friends, MAST students and Rumson Fair Haven Key Club members. Clean drinking water is something we take for granted here in the United States, but it is precious – and often not clean – in many parts of our world. Could you do without water?

The Red Bank Regional High School Key Club will have a Photo Op for CROP and will join many schools, faith groups and businesses to collect food. Rumson Country Day School is our community leader in food collecting. This year Shrewsbury VW is launching a big food drive in their showroom, so check out the new Beetles and our classic Beetle food box and bring a can of beans to help fill it. Two River Community Bank branches have food boxes around the area, as well.

DJ J&J Music will be playing background music for our new Crop Walka Walka, led by Teen Leaders from RBC and many area schools. And the CROP Hop has a great beat in telling the story of how we can help eradicate hunger in small ways. An art contest, community garden display, affordable housing, ONE.org and the Tomato Workers Coalition will all have displays, along with our 17 local partner programs, where you can get information on how to help. It is a family day with clowns along the route, happy smiles and a cup of ice cream and fresh apples at the finish line. You’ll be glad you got involved.

Additional information is available at www.redbankcropwalk.com or by calling 732-530-7718 for materials.

See you there in a CROP T-shirt or cap, helping to stop hunger one step at a time!

Janie SchildgeCoordinator, CROP Hunger Walk

Thank a Veteran at 70th Commemoration of Battle for Guadalcanal

To the Editor:

World War II, 1931 – 1945, was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind. Historians today consider the war the most significant event of the 20th century. More than a half-century now separates us from that conflict and time has exacted its toll on the nation’s collective knowledge of this struggle and its worldwide implica­tions. Several generations of Americans have now grown to maturity largely unaware of the impact of this war that, more than any other war united Americans as a people and transformed American society resulting in the nation we live in today.

To commemorate the Battle for Guadalcanal, a crucial World War II battle fought 70 years ago in the Pacific, Brookdale Community College’s Center for World War II Studies and Conflict Resolution will conduct a free program featuring several veterans of the battle on Saturday, Oct. 13, starting at 10 a.m. in the College’s Warner Student Life Center.

The battle was the first real test of land strength between the militaries of Imperial Japan and the U.S. and proved to be a major turning point in World War II. The veterans of Guadalcanal walk a little slower these days and you may have to speak louder when talking to them. Time has taken and is taking its toll but when they were young, they did something no other generation within any country can claim – they saved the world. They did so not for glory or honor, not for lasting tributes on a printed page but simply because it had to be done. It fell to these Americans to save the world from the unspeakable horrors of global fascist domination and this they did.

We need to take a long, loving look at these veterans while we still have a chance and Brookdale, therefore, invites all to come to the 70th Anniversary of the Battle for Guadalcanal Commemora­tion. It would give everyone who comes a chance to talk with a Guadalcanal veteran, give him a hug, shake his hand and say “thank you.”

Paul ZigoAssociate Professor of HistoryDirector, Center for World War II Studies and Conflict ResolutionBrookdale Community College

ONE Campaign at Christ Church to Fight Global Hunger

To the Editor:

The ONE Campaign, an international advocacy organization co-founded by Bono with more than 3 million members worldwide, is joining forces with NFL Network sportscaster Melissa Stark at Christ Church in Fair Haven to raise awareness of the global problem of hunger and malnutrition.

On Oct. 16, which is World Food Day, I will discuss the church’s involvement with ONE and it’s Harvest Garden Ministry. All produce from the garden is donated to a local food pantry. I will also join Ms. Stark for a public screening of a short documentary about the sweet potato and its positive affect on nutrition in the developing world.

The event will raise awareness about how New Jersey residents can act locally and think globally. ONE has launched a global campaign called Sweet Potato on the Menu, Nutrition on the Agenda – aimed at breaking the cycle of global malnutrition and poverty. ONE is calling on foodies around the world to turn up the heat on global leaders to put nutrition on the international development agenda.

The issue of global nutrition is a long-term problem, as 165 million children worldwide are stunted as a result of chronic malnourishment and every year 2.4 million children die due to malnutrition. ONE is calling on world leaders to make measurable commitments to reduce chronic malnutrition for 25 million kids by 2016 so they can reach their full potential.

The World Food Day event will be held at noon Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Christ Church, 300 Ridge Road, Fair Haven.

For more information about ONE visit www.one.org.

Pastor Eusun KimChrist ChurchFair Haven

Two River Moment

This is Monmouth Street, Red Bank, during the 1950s. The Victorian house on the right with the columns is now Dublin House. The tall building on the left was a Bell Telephone Co. building and later became Red Bank Borough Hall. It now houses offices, including those of area state legislators.